Marriott World Trade Center

The New York Marriott World Trade Center, also known as 3 World Trade Center (3 WTC), was a 22-story, 825-room hotel in New York City, within the original World Trade Center complex in downtown Manhattan. It opened in April 1981 as the Vista International Hotel, the first major hotel since 1836 to open in Manhattan south of Canal Street.

The hotel was damaged in the World Trade Center bombing by al-Qaeda terrorists on February 26, 1993. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey considered demolishing the building, but instead decided to repair it. The building's structure was reinforced, and it re-opened in November 1994. In November 1995, it was bought by Marriott Corporation and renamed the New York Marriott World Trade Center.

In 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks by al-Qaeda, the hotel was mostly destroyed by the collapse of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers (1 and 2 WTC), after two planes were crashed into them. 43 people inside the hotel died: 41 firefighters and two employees. Only the southern end of the building was spared, and it was eventually demolished to make way for reconstruction. The hotel was not replaced as part of the post-2001 World Trade Center complex, although its address (3 WTC) was reused for the tower at 175 Greenwich Street.

It was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in 1978–79. The building was a 22-story steel-framed structure with 825 rooms and six basement levels (labeled B1 through B6). The hotel was connected to the North Tower via an underground entrance at concourse level, and a small pedestrian walkway that extended from the west promenade of the Marriott to the North Tower on plaza level.^{[citation needed]}

The hotel also had 26,000 square feet (2,400 m²) of meeting space on the entire third floor. It was considered a four-diamond hotel by the American Automobile Association (AAA). It was meant for business travelers, who were offered translators and a reference library of 28 foreign-language dictionaries. The staff was also multilingual. The lobby was split between two levels, and was themed around the sea, featuring a golden sculpture of sails. On the 22nd floor, there was a gym that was the largest of any hotel in New York City at the time, with a swimming pool and a running track with views of the Hudson River and the Austin J. Tobin Plaza.

The pool was put near the top so the hotel could be flooded if a fire occurred. The hotel featured two restaurants: The Tall Ships Bar and Grill, located at street-level, and the Greenhouse Café, a restaurant on the plaza level that featured a large skylight looking up at the North and South Tower. Previously, another restaurant had operated called The American Harvest; however, it was removed following the bombing in 1993 and was renovated and remained as a rentable space called the Harvest Room.

The hotel was first known as the Vista International Hotel, but also became known as World Trade Center 3 (WTC 3 or 3 WTC), the World Trade Center Hotel, the Vista Hotel, and the Marriott Hotel. The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with construction beginning in March 1979. It opened on April 1, 1981, with 100 of 825 rooms available, and it was completed in July 1981. The construction cost $70 million. It was planned and managed by Hilton International, but they could not use the Hilton name for the hotel because of an agreement with Hilton Hotels to not use the name in the U.S. The Vista was the first major hotel to open in Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street since 1836. Shortly before the opening day of the hotel, a fire broke out on the 7th floor.

The Vista was first under lease to WTC Hotel Associates of Chicago. Kuo Hotel Corporation, based in Hong Kong, bought the hotel's leasehold in 1982. The hotel was successful, creating a nightlife culture in the area and spurring development of more hotels in Lower Manhattan. In 1989, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey bought the leasehold from Kuo for $78 million, but the operating rights remained in the hands of Hilton International as management agent.